Michelle Wie has drawn the wrath of fans in the past for getting too many free passes to big events, but it’s difficult to argue she didn’t deserve being named a captain’s pick to the U.S. Solheim Cup team.
The only player with a legitimate beef is Pat Hurst.
Nobody else outside the top 10 on the American points list has any reasonable claim above Wie’s.
Hurst won the MasterCard Classic in March, but she went cold this summer, failing to record a finish better than a tie for 40th in her last 10 starts. She also missed the cut at the Ricoh Women’s British Open on Friday while Wie ended up finishing tied for 11th. Still, winning’s a big deal, and so is Hurst ’s 10-7-3 Solheim Cup record. Daniel said leaving Hurst off “killed her” and was her toughest decision so far as captain.
Still, even with Hurst winning an event, Wie ended up earning more Solheim Cup points in her rookie season this year than Hurst earned in two seasons.
Wie ended up 13th in U.S. Solheim Cup points with Hurst 14th, Jane Park 15th and Juli Inkster 16th.
The two players who finished ahead of Wie in points, No. 11 Laura Diaz and No. 12 Stacy Prammanasudh, have struggled. Diaz hasn’t earned a Solheim Cup point all year and Prammanasudh hasn’t earned one in four months.
Mell, a senior writer, is a 30-year veteran and covers the PGA and LPGA tours for Golf Channel.
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